


The Hope Of Homeworld

by enderstorm



Series: The Hope Of Homeworld [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Steven Universe is a Diamond, Steven is Yellow Diamond
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-09 20:55:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18645952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enderstorm/pseuds/enderstorm
Summary: Steven is fourteen years old and basically the ruler of the universe. He is a superweapon created by his mother, Yellow Diamond, half organic and half gem, with the downsides of neither. And after learning of some of his mother's other superweapons, he sets his sights on Earth to claim the Cluster.





	The Hope Of Homeworld

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited and rewritten on 18th November 2019

“Pearl?” Steven Diamond called out, from atop a chair that was still far too large for him. He knew that he would likely never grow into it, but he was too proud and stubborn to just… order a new one made.  
  
“Yes, my Dia- er, Steven?” Yellow Pearl responded, inwardly cursing at her incompetence. Fourteen years, and she still couldn’t get his name right. She knew she should be shattered.  
  
“Is there any interesting news from any of the colonies?”  
  
“Er… No, I’m afraid not, my Steven.” Pearl bowed her head.  
  
“Really?” Steven gave her an incredulous look. “Nothing at _all?_ ”  
  
Pearl shook her head, as she returned to sorting through the thousands of reports that were streaming in. There was  _ plenty _ of news from the colonies, of course, but all of it was beneath her Diamond’s notice. She could handle the menial reports, things like a Kindergarten being set up, another spire being constructed, or another aristocrat’s Pearl being shattered. Her Diamond wanted  _ interesting _ things, like new gems emerging, or new potential colony sites being discovered.  
  
“Ugh, I’m _bored._ ” Her Diamond groaned.  
  
“Did someone say _bored?”_ A long, stretchy pink form asked, springing into existence from a side chamber. “Heya there, ‘bored’, I’m ya best friend!”  
  
“You’re as bad as Peridot.” He groaned, smiling all the same. His smile fell, though. He couldn’t keep doing this. Maybe his younger form needed constant entertainment, but he was trying to grow past ‘fun’. ‘Fun’ didn’t get things done.  
  
Owning an empire spanning several galaxies wasn’t fun. Running them definitely wasn’t fun. Combat training wasn’t fun, with his limited control over his electric powers. And _history lessons_ with one of Blue Diamond’s Lapis Lazulis _definitely_ wasn’t fun.  
  
His job wasn’t fun. But it also wasn’t meant to be. Steven had long since learnt that fun has no place in Homeworld. All that matters here is efficiency.  
  
He tore his eyes away from Spinel, his ‘best friend’.  
  
“You know what…” He yawned. “I misspoke. I’m not bored, I’m… tired.”  
  
“Oh.” Spinel deflated. “Fine. I see how it is, ‘tired’. Say, have you seen ‘bored’? He looked just like you, but now I can’t find him anymore!” She mock wailed.  
  
 _Ugh. Her puns keep getting worse._  
  
“Pearl, dance for me.” He ordered.  
  
Pearl looked ecstatic. Her Diamond _rarely_ asked her to perform for him. She composed herself, and immediately dispelled her light screens, leaping to her feet. It didn’t matter to her that there were literally thousands of reports streaming in from the hundreds of colonies that her Diamond oversaw, because right now her Diamond needed her to dance.  
  
Steven found his Pearl’s elegant ballerina dance relaxing. He always did. When he needed cheering up, Spinel was there. But when he could find time to rest, he liked to stare deeply into her dance. It was… hypnotic. Calming.  
  
“Blech. I’m gonna go find Peri.” Spinel said, snaking out of the room.  
  
Three hours later, Pearl was beginning to feel a little tired. However, her Diamond had not given her an order to stop, so she didn’t. It was only when she heard a soft snoring sound that she dared to let her body relax. Her Diamond had fallen asleep to her dancing, again.  
  
She gently picked him up and carried him over to the room’s only new addition in fourteen years, a large pillow fort. She placed him delicately in the center, and hastily retreated to continue filing reports.  
  
“Goodnight, my Diamond.” She whispered, feeling a rare moment of happiness.

* * *

Steven groaned and clutched his head, as he was unwillingly drawn from his rest. His eyes were groggy and his headache was even worse.  _ Oh, shards, _ he thought.  _ I forgot to consume my vitamins before I went to sleep again, didn’t I? _   
  
“My Diamond? Are you awake?” His Pearl asked. He didn’t have the energy in him to correct her right now.  
  
“What is it, Pearl?” He asked, as he slowly sat up and tried to shake the sleep off of him.  
  
“Your meeting with Blue Diamond at Pink Diamond’s Zoo will be starting soon. We should leave immediately.”  
  
“Oh, no.” Steven groaned. “I can’t fly a ship tired, Pearl.”  
  
“You did promise her that you would be there, my Diamond. Steven.” Pearl continued. “It would look bad for a Diamond to break their promise, especially to another Diamond.”  
  
“Oh, alright.” Steven relented, emerging from his comfy yellow pillow fort. “But I need my vitamin injections, first.”  
  
“Your Peridot will meet you aboard your ship, my Steven.” Pearl said, quickly punching something into her light screen.  
  
“You’re the best, Pearl.” Steven smiled, as she led him out of Yellow Diamond’s central office and towards the personal warp pad. Two big Topaz guards saluted at the sight of him, standing perfectly at attention.  
  
“I am not as great as you, my Diamond.” Pearl replied, blushing as her Diamond giggled in a very childlike manner. She had known her Diamond for eons, and she had never heard her laugh like this before.  
  
She had to remind herself again. He _isn’t_ Yellow. He’s a half organic child, who needed strange things like sleep and education and vitamin supplements, and who ruled over several galaxies worth of colonies.  
  
If Pearl could be honest, she was surprised the gems of their empire even agreed to serve a half organic. But they did so admirably, and they each knew their place. As was expected.  
  
“Uh, Pearl? The warp pad?” Steven asked, gesturing to the pedestal they were standing on, snapping Yellow Pearl out of her thoughts.  
  
“Of course, right away, my Steven.” Pearl obliged, warping them to the roof, where the Yellow Diamond’s ship rested. Usually Yellow Diamond just warped them herself, having very little patience to wait for someone else. But she had forgotten that Steven was not very good at warping yet, and besides, menial actions like that were beneath him anyway. Pearl was more than happy to warp for him.  
  
A small yellow bubble engulfed them, as they were taken aboard the ship. That was something that Steven would probably never get used to.  
  
“Hey-hey, bestie!” Spinel greeted him.  
  
“Ah. Greetings, Steven.” A Peridot immediately greeted him with a salute, her forehead gem gleaming at the sight of him. Pearl inwardly cringed. It was so easy for gems made after Steven was to just recognise him as ‘Steven’. They’d never known Yellow Diamond. “Please hold still, I have your required vitamins right here.”  
  
Steven internally shivered when he caught sight of the needles, but be swallowed that hesitation and obediently held his arm out anyway. He’d seen much scarier things. “Hey, Peridot. Were you hanging out with Spinel?”  
  
“Yes.” She nodded, inserting the syringe. “She is a wellspring of excellent puns.”  
  
“Sounds… fun.” Steven cringed, thankfully covered up by a wince of pain from having the second syringe inserted.  
  
“Yep! That’s us. Two pals, hangin’ out.”  
  
“Well, don’t get _too_ close.” He said.  
  
“Aww, I’d _never_ forget about you, best friend!” Spinel said, bobbing up and down excitedly.  
  
He stared at her for a few seconds, before he chuckled and shook his head. “That wasn’t what I was worried about. You can make friends with whoever you want, Spinel. I just mean exactly that… Don’t get too close to each other.”  
  
“Steven, is there some emotional stress you wish to talk about?”  
  
“Nothing you are cleared to hear about.” Pearl said, in a clipped tone that indicated they had little time for standing around talking.  
  
“I just… had to put down another fusion earlier.” He sighed.  
  
“Oh…” Peridot whined, wrapping her cold limb enhancers around the boy. Spinel joined in the comfort, wrapping her elastic arms several times around the both of them.  
  
“I keep _trying_ to help them. I offer them amnesty if they unfuse and get back to their regular duties. But none of them ever want to. They always leave me no choice.” He said. “I _hate_ wasting useful resources.”  
  
“My S-Steven, it pains me to interrupt, but Blue Diamond is waiting.” Pearl said.  
  
“Oh. Right.” He stood up, waiting for Spinel to uncoil her arms from around him. “If you’re not gonna let me go, then carry me across the hallway.”  
  
She stretched herself over to the bridge, Steven still in her arms. She finally released him, letting him stretch a little. “So where we goin’?”  
  
“Pink Diamond’s old Zoo. Blue’s waiting for us there.”  
  
“Oh.” Spinel’s wide grin got considerably flatter, but she attempted to remain cheerful anyway.  
  
“What, you don’t want to come?” Steven asked. “I mean, you’re technically not supposed to, but I’m being generous.”  
  
“Ech. Blue’s too sad for me. She made it clear that I could never cheer her up, ‘cause I remind her too much of…” Spinel trailed off.  
  
“You could stay here.”  
  
“No!” Spinel shouted angrily. She realised her outburst a few seconds later, and laughed awkwardly. “Haha! Nuh-uh, you can’t get rid of me _that_ easily, bestie! We’re for _life!_ ” She smiled, booping him on the nose.  
  
“Good.” He smiled, opening the door to the bridge. He took his seat, one of the only ones that he actually did get re-adjusted for his size, and placed his arm into the white panel to the right of him.  
  
“You are admirably loyal.” Pearl whispered in approval.  
  
“Well _duh._ He’s my bestest best friend in the whole wide empire.” She smiled.  
  
“Now, Steven.” Peridot said, finally catching up to them. “Here’s your required hydration. Remember not to fall asleep without drinking some again, okay? Waking up dehydrated is only slightly worse than waking up mid R.E.M. cycle. Because you’re so tired, I mixed it with caffeine.”  
  
Steven gulped the vile black liquid down in one go, savouring the bitter taste. He perked up almost instantly, a determined look crossing his face. He pumped his fists, the ship responding by clenching its fist.  
  
Pearl glared at the Peridot, for conversing with her Diamond so callously. Most gems might quiver in fear, but she only sneered right back at her.  
  
“Do they not make gems with proper manners anymore?” Pearl whispered, haughtily. The Peridot chuckled in response.  
  
“Don’t make me crack that beautiful form of yours, Pearl.” She smiled politely, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I was instructed to oversee the wellbeing of Steven and that is what I’ll do.”  
  
“Prepare for launch.” He announced, missing the tension in the room.  
  
His arm was engulfed in a white glow, and the ship started to rumble. He clenched his fist, reared back, and, with a deafening crack, _punched_ his way through the atmosphere.  
  
And that was as far as Steven got. “Pearl, plot a course for the Zoo.” He knew how to take off, but he didn’t actually know _where_ to fly. Space was incomprehensibly large, after all.  
  
“Of course, my Diamond.”  
  
Steven didn’t know what Blue Diamond had to talk to him about, but if she summoned him to the Zoo instead of just telling him on Homeworld, he had no doubt that it was important.  
  
They didn’t exactly ‘get along’, regardless. Blue Diamond did her best to teach Steven the history and culture of Homeworld, but that was about the extent of it. She was just so… detached.  
  
But not as much as White Diamond. Steven had never met her, but he knew that she didn’t do anything. She just stayed motionless up in her ship’s control room, completely oblivious to the world around her.  
  
So, Steven had to do everything himself. He had to manage Homeworld, in addition to all his colonies. Blue at the very least kept her colonies functional, and while Steven had never heard anything from any of White’s supposed colonies he assumed that they just managed themselves.  
  
He wasn’t particularly annoyed about any of this. It was his life, he’d never known anything different.  
  
“Wat’cha thinkin’ about, best friend?” Spinel asked, bobbing up and down excitedly.  
  
“Boring stuff.” He sighed.  
  
“Enough boring stuff.” Spinel scoffed. “I’m gonna make you laugh.”  
  
“Humans are most ticklish under their arms.” Peridot piped up helpfully. “Well, Steven is, anyway.”  
  
“Oh, is he?” Spinel grinned maliciously.  
  
“No, wait, he- HAHAHAHAHA!” Steven laughed as he was assaulted by a myriad of fingers dancing under his armpits.  
  
And then Spinel was blasted backwards as there was a great yellow explosion around Steven. Peridot was at his side in seconds, scanning him over with her limb enhancers, making sure he was safe to touch.  
  
“My Diamond!” Pearl shrieked, forgetting his name in her panic. “Are you alright?”  
  
“I’m fine, Pearl. Just another static electricity malfunction. Go make sure Spinel is alright.” He said, weakly.  
  
Pearl obeyed, of course. Her Diamond commanded her to, so she did.  
  
“How’s your head, Steven?” Peridot asked.  
  
“I don’t remember the last time I’ve been to the Zoo.” Steven said, trying to focus.  
  
“Oh, I do.” Peridot chuckled, as Yellow Pearl stared back at her in utter shock. “It was a few years ago, when you somehow caught that virus so we had to incredibly hastily fly you to the infirmary there, and that Agate threw you into the exhibit before we could treat you.”  
  
“Oh, yeah. We had to leave without Pearl since she was off on her rest cycle with Blue’s Pearl.” He laughed.  
  
“When you wander those halls on your own without your Pearl, you just look like a human who escaped containment. I suppose she thought you were a new arrival that had gotten lost.” Peridot shrugged, trying to contain her laughter.  
  
“Those humans in there were so dumb. They honestly thought I wanted to spend all day rolling around on the ground with them. A few of them even touched me.” Steven shivered in disgust.  
  
“Yes, well.” Peridot sighed, her voice losing all mirth. “Those humans who did touch you died a few days later. Honestly, humans all have such terrible immune systems. They’re so frail, even by organic standards..”  
  
“Oh.” Steven blinked. “Whatever happened to that Holly Blue Agate, anyway?”  
  
“Oh, she handles cleaning the human waste and disposal chute, now. Order of Blue Diamond, I recall. A different Agate now oversees the Zoo and Amethyst guards.” Peridot explained.  
  
Pearl grimaced at the casual exchange, but wisely kept her mouth shut until it was needed. “We’ve arrived.”  
  
“I’m okay!” Spinel shouted. “That was just really _shocking!_ It gave me a mega _jolt!_ ”  
  
“Well.” Peridot hummed. “At least you’re back to your… _electric personality._ ”  
  
“Uugghh.” Steven groaned. “Pearl, quick. Bubble pod us in.”  
  
In a confusing blur of yellow, they were suddenly inside the landing bay of the zoo. As Steven tried to swallow down his lunch (that he technically never had), he heard a soft gasp in front of him.  
  
“Oh, my Diamond! What a pleasant surprise!” A bright red Agate greeted them, clasping her hands together, her knee gemstone glimmering. “I-I heard you were coming, of course, but I almost didn’t believe-”  
  
“We are on a very tight schedule, Agate.” Pearl interrupted. “Just lead us to where Blue Diamond is.”  
  
“You wanted to know about the new Agate? That’s Cherry Agate. She’s a bit slow due to her odd gemstone placement, but overall better than Holly Blue.” Peridot whispered, and then spoke loud enough for all to hear. “You have fun, Steven. I have to pick up some more organic supplies.”  
  
“I’m gonna go entertain the Amethysts here!” Spinel said, excitedly bouncing down the hallway. “Don’t leave without me, _okay?_ ”  
  
“I would never.”  
  
“I’ll come for you if you do!” Spinel said cheerily, which… rubbed Steven the wrong way.  
  
“This way, my Diamond.” Pearl said, gesturing to Cherry Agate.  
  
“Yes, if you’ll follow me, my Diamond.” Cherry bowed gracefully.  
  
She led them down a series of winding halls, and unlike her predecessor, did not stop to insult every guard along the way. They knew they were close when their eyes started to tear up.  
  
“She is just in here, my Diamond.” Cherry Agate saluted, before limping off.  
  
 _Peridot was right, that is an odd gem placement,_ Steven thought. _She can’t bend her left leg at all._  
  
“Blue, I’m here!” Steven called out, as he walked into the ancient room that had once belonged to Pink Diamond. Thousands of bubbles glimmered above them, each one containing a Rose Quartz.  
  
“Yellow!” Blue shouted in surprise, turning around.  
  
“Steven.” Steven corrected. “Yellow’s gone, I’m just… Steven.”  
  
“Right.” Blue whispered, the tears threatening to flow anew. “I’m sorry.”  
  
“It’s fine. I know you were close. Even my Pearl forgets, sometimes.” He shrugged. “So, what did you want to talk about? If it wasn’t something important, you wouldn’t have dragged me all the way out here.”  
  
“It is to do with this place.” Blue sighed. “What do you know about _her_? About… Pink?”  
  
“Only what others have told me.”  
  
“Pink was… compassionate. She loved these organics, for reasons that still elude me. No doubt she would have loved… you.”  
  
“I wish I could have met her.” Steven sighed, sadly.  
  
“I do, too.” Blue sniffled. “But… My gems working here came to me with troubling news. The humans here are dying. This zoo needs more humans, but the window of opportunity to preserve their species is closing.”  
  
“Closing? Why?”  
  
“There is a geo-weapon incubating in the Earth’s core, and when it forms it will destroy all life.” Blue explained. “It was… mostly Yellow’s idea. She wanted that planet destroyed, but now that she’s… gone, I can tell you that I think it would dishonor Pink’s legacy.”  
  
“I see. And that means…” Steven trailed off, prompting for an answer.  
  
“I want to terminate the Cluster.”  
  
 _The Cluster? Why have I never heard of this? Mental note: Ask Pearl to get me information on the Cluster, and following that, all of Yellow’s other superweapon projects._  
  
“A superweapon like that would be invaluable for conquering other worlds.” Steven countered, and then sighed when he saw the elder Diamond’s look. “But I trust your judgement when it comes to things older than me or any of my history lessons.”  
  
“Besides.” He shrugged. “I didn’t even know this ‘Cluster’ existed until, like, ten seconds ago, so it’s no extraction sweat off my back.”  
  
“Oh, Yellow. Thank you.” Blue smiled.  
  
“It’s Steven.”  
  
“Right. ‘Steven.’ It’s such a funny sounding name.”  
  
“It’s human. It’s what Yellow gave me.” Steven shrugged. “I’m going to inspect this planet myself, anyway. Maybe the Cluster could be extracted before it forms, preserving the planet and the species, netting us a weapon in the process.” He looked up at her. “I’ll need a few Lapis Lazulis for that.”  
  
“I’ll send you a couple.” Blue nodded. “Two should be sufficient. The planet has enough ocean to sustain them.”  
  
“Besides, I… I’m curious to see the other side of my species. _These_ humans have been in captivity for a while, so I want to see what wild ones look like.” He said.  
  
“Just… be careful, Steven. One Diamond has already been lost to that place. I won’t let you leave without some of my gems.”  
  
“I thought you said that you and the other Diamonds eradicated every gem on the planet. What else is there that could pose a threat?”  
  
“Please, just in case.” Blue pleaded. He found it hard to deny her.  
  
“Okay, look, I’ll send a Red Eye in advance. If anything unusual turns up, we can talk about what gems I’ll bring.” Steven relented. “Pearl!”  
  
“Yes, my Diamond?”  
  
“Have a Red Eye sent to Earth.” Steven ordered, as he walked out of the room, waving a quick goodbye to Blue. “And get me everything you can find on ‘the Cluster’.”  


* * *

_ 2 weeks later _   
  
“My Diamond?” Yellow Pearl called out. “You have a report from Apatite Facet 6KL Cut 20C, about the Red Eye deployed from Earth. She says that she needs to see you urgently, should I send her in?”  
  
“Yeah, go ahead.”  
  
Pearl opened the door and poked her head around the corner, to a tall blue gem frantically tapping away at a light screen. “My Diamond has requested your presence, now.” Pearl said, to which Apatite looked incredibly relieved.  
  
“My Diamond.” Apatite hastily saluted, her bright yellow diamond symbol a stark contrast to her dark blue form. “The Red Eye reported nothing.”  
  
“Oh, that’s good.” Steven waved her off, and then paused and slowly looked back at her. “Wait, then why do you look so… I don’t know, frazzled?”  
  
“Because that’s just it. It reported _nothing._ It didn’t report that there were no gems on the surface, it just got to the planet and then stopped reporting altogether.” Apatite explained, her voice fast and shaky. “It could be that it’s out of range, and in that case we’d need to send a robonoid to reactivate the Communication Hub on Earth, which based on these reports, was disabled when we left there.”  
  
“We’ll do that, then.” Steven answered, but Apatite cut in again, unbidden, to the surprise and disgust of Pearl.  
  
“B-but the more likely scenario is that something, or someone, destroyed it.”  
  
The silence following that was thick. Steven stood up, a dark look on his face. “Then I’ll have to go myself, and get a local scan. Pearl, contact Blue Diamond and tell her to send whatever gems she feels that I need. As for me, get that Jasper who survived the war. And my Peridot.” Pearl saluted, and summoned her light screens.  
  
“O-oh. You’re leaving, m-my Diamond?” Apatite asked.  
  
“Yes, I am. Was there anything else?”  
  
“...No, my Diamond. Well, maybe. This isn’t part of my report, just my opinion. We build those Red Eyes very tough. Only powerful energy weapons or planet-buster size asteroids could destroy one, and while both are bad news for the Earth, I’m pretty sure it was the former. I doubt humans could even activate such a weapon, if they even knew what it was, so I think the most likely outcome is that… t-the Crystal Gems are still on Earth.”  
  
“Is that so?” Spinel asked, stretching herself to the top of the yellow throne. “Isn’t that just… _swell?_ "  
  
“...Great.” Steven sighed. “Don’t tell Blue yet. She’ll be liable to go there and kill them all herself, and I don’t need that kind of interference while I’m trying to take a chunk out of the planet.”  
  
“B-but-”  
  
Steven wheeled on her, his eyes suddenly glowing a bright, dangerous yellow, sparks flying from his fingertips. “Nothing you just told me leaves this room! Do you understand? If you can’t keep your mouth shut, I’ll have you bubbled for the next few hundred years.”  
  
“Y-yes, my Diamond!” Apatite squeaked, managing to pull her quaking limbs into a salute.  
  
“Good. That will be all.”  
  
As soon as Apatite left, Steven let out a massive groan and sank deep into his pillow fort. “Are you well, my Diamond?” Pearl asked.  
  
There was a very angry, muffled response. “Don’t call me that. Please, just, right now, I need you to call me Steven. And let Peridot know I had another… outburst.”  
  
“Right away, my… Steven.”  
  
Spinel peeked out from around his throne. “Hey… You need cheerin’ up, best friend?”  
  
“Do _you?_ ” He asked. “I’ll be going to Earth soon.”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“...Without you, Spinel.” He said.  
  
“No you’re not, silly!” She laughed.  
  
“It’ll be dangerous, Spine- _ugh!_ ” He suddenly gasped for air as Spinel pressed herself right up close to Steven’s face.  
  
“Nuh-uh, bestie. I’m going with you to Earth, and then if we see those… Crystal Clowns, _I’m going to destroy them for what they did to Pink._ ” She grinned maliciously.  
  
“I have soldiers, Spinel.”  
  
“Yeah, you do. And you need _someone_ to keep them entertained during the long flight there, _riiiight?_ ” She asked.  
  
“You don’t have a weapon.”  
  
“Oh, _don’t I?_ ” She asked, retrieving a magenta stick from her gem.  
  
“Wh-Where did you get that?” Pearl screeched, dispelling her light screens. “Point that _away_ from him!”  
  
“What is it?” He asked, standing up.  
  
“It’s a rejuvenator, my Steven.” Pearl explained, projecting some ancient schematics from her gem. “Co designed by my Diamond and White Diamond, to be used against any captured rebels, by restoring their gem to its original state.”  
  
“Yep! I’m gonna force Rosie to watch all her friends turn against her.” Spinel smiled.  
  
“No, you are _not_.” Pearl said, snatching the rejuvenator away, depositing it inside her own gem. “Their use was condemned after it was discovered that the rebels’ memories were merely hidden away and could be unlocked through stress, thereby undoing the rejuvenator’s effects.”  
  
“Pearl, when this Earth mission is over, get me a list of _all_ of my predecessor’s weapon projects.” Steven sighed.  
  
“Of course, my Diamond.”  
  
“Spinel…” He sighed. “You can come. I’ll let you have a destabiliser, _but!_ ” He stood proudly and leant in close to her face. “Once we get to Earth, you have to do _exactly_ as I order.”  
  
Spinel looked as though she wanted to argue, and then considered the alternative. Staying here, alone. In a room where no one will see her until her friend gets back, and he _might not_ because the Earth was dangerous. It had already taken her _bestest_ best friend from her. So she crossed her stretchy arms in the shape of a Diamond and nodded, putting on as serious of a face as she could conjure.  


* * *

> Earth Mission Log  
> 
> 
> **Priority  
> ** Steven Yellow Diamond - VIP! Protect at ALL COSTS  
>  Peridot Facet 2F5L Cut 5XG - Important to VIP, safety considered second priority  
>  Jasper Facet 9 Cut (unknown, records destroyed in rebellion) - Not VIP, but safety third priority as she will be in charge of personally protecting Steven  
>  Pearl - Safety not important, not VIP, not priority, but personally important to VIP  
>  **Auxiliary  
> ** Aquamarine - Sent by BD, will split up from Cluster group and look for prime human specimens for transportation.  
>  Cherry Agate - Will accompany Aquamarine and transport humans back to Zoo  
>  2x Lapis Lazuli - Will be in charge of mining and extracting the Cluster. ETA one Earth year.  
>  Spinel - Not important to mission. Is accompanying our VIP only by proxy.

Pearl looked over this report a few dozen times before nodding and sending it to her Diamond. This was not a mission that they could afford to mess up. If they did, well… It’s not an option.  
  
Her personal light screen was flashing. A gem is trying to contact her?  
  
“Ugh.” Yellow sighed, silently. Her Diamond was right next to her, after all. “Don’t they know I’m working?”  


> PERI: We won’t have enough vitamins for Steven.  
>  PERI: Isn’t there any way you could convince him to delay this mission for a few more months?  
>  ME: Absolutely not.   
>  ME: Our Diamond, and Blue Diamond, both agree that there is absolutely no time to waste.   
>  ME: The Earth may not have ‘a few months’.   
>  PERI: Maybe you didn’t understand me.  
>  PERI: We will run out of vitamins.  
>  PERI: He will grow frail and may die.  
>  ME: Just get some of the fruit from the zoo.   
>  PERI: You want him to… eat physical food?  
>  PERI: Okay, but you’re cleaning up.  
>  PERI: Humans can’t go three seconds without defecating when they consume that bio-slop.  
>  PERI: Just ask Holly Blue.  
>  ME: Cleaning up is but one of my duties to our Diamond.   
>  PERI: You might not be that servile when he starts defecating all over the floor.  
>  ME: If you do not cease insulting our Diamond, I’ll have you shattered.   
>  PERI: Because you’re totally showing him these chatlogs. He’d punish you for texting on the job.  
>  PERI: And besides, shatter me? His best friend?  
>  PERI: What would that do to him emotionally?  
>  PERI: Then we’d just have two Blue Diamonds.  
>  ME: I believe Spinel is his best friend.  
>  ME: You are his guardian.  
>  PERI: My point still stands.  
>  ME: Our Diamond may have outlawed unnecessary shattering, but there are still some laws that are unforgivable if broken.   
>  ME: This conversation is over.

 

> BLUEP: You’re going to Earth.  
>  ME: That wasn’t a question.   
>  ME: But yes, I am.   
>  BLUEP: It’s beautiful, there.  
>  BLUEP: The flowers are so pretty.  
>  BLUEP: My Diamond and I went there recently, to  _ her _ palanquin.  
>  ME: Should you really be telling me this? You know I’d hate for you to be punished.   
>  BLUEP: I shouldn’t. But I’m going to anyway. Who’s going to monitor the chatlogs of a couple of old Pearls?  
>  ME: Any Howlite who doesn’t wish to be reprimanded for not doing her job?   
>  BLUEP: Anyway, we found this human. He walked right up to my Diamond and asked her if she was crying.  
>  BLUEP: She was surprised, but she said yes.  
>  BLUEP: And then… they talked. No bowing, no flattering, no prostrating.  
>  ME: Lunacy.   
>  BLUEP: That’s what I thought. I didn’t say anything, of course, but…  
>  ME: It’s completely unprecedented. It didn’t… touch her, did it?   
>  ME: One of the Zoo humans touched my Diamond that time he was trapped in there and the Amethysts removed its arms.   
>  ME: And then it got its disgusting red bio-matter everywhere. It ran around screaming ‘hurt, hurt’ for several minutes until it fell over and had to be disposed of.   
>  BLUEP: That sounds funny.  
>  BLUEP: But no, he didn’t.  
>  BLUEP: When they were done talking, my Diamond returned to the ship and ordered an Aquamarine to tail him.  
>  BLUEP: She ended up going back to Earth’s Moon base just to observe him from a distance.  
>  BLUEP: He soon ended up transported to the zoo.  
>  ME: I love your stories, Blue, but is there a point to all this or can I get back to work?   
>  BLUEP: This human was the source of the genetic material used to create Steven Diamond.  
>  BLUEP: I thought that was interesting.  
>  ME: I’ve been lenient up to here, Blue, but that is extremely classified information.   
>  BLUEP: When do you intend on telling him, Yellow?  
>  ME: Never. It was stricken from the reports.   
>  BLUEP: What was his name? Greg? Something human.  
>  ME: Just stop.   
>  BLUEP: Don’t worry, Yellow. My Diamond thinks this mission to Earth is incredibly important, and I wouldn’t dare interfere with it.  
>  BLUEP: Of course, if, upon your Diamond’s triumphant return to Homeworld, he found supposedly deleted files from the Organic Superweapon Project, that someone may have found in an offworld archive, sitting in his inbox, well…  
>  BLUEP: Would he be interested?  
>  ME: You are sick and twisted, Blue.   
>  BLUEP: I’ve had crushing depression forced on me for the past 5000 years.  
>  BLUEP: Be grateful that twisted is all I am.

* * *

“Everyone is accounted for, my Diamond.” Yellow Pearl announced, taking her place beside her Diamond, at the control room of the arm ship.  
  
“I told you to call me Steven.” Her Diamond grumbled.  
  
“Whatever you command, my Steven.”  
  
“I’m not _your_ Steven.” Steven said, narrowing his eyes dangerously. “I _am_ Steven, and I’m the only me. And no one’s in control of-”  
  
“Steven!” Peridot shouted, happily. Pearl sighed with relief, for once she was glad to see the unruly green gem.  
  
“Peridot.” Steven greeted, all traces of malice gone.  
  
“Arms out.” Peridot ordered. “You’re having a checkup before we take off.”  
  
Steven sighed, but complied. A soft green glow encompassed him as Peridot’s limb enhancers scanned everything they needed to check.  
  
“Hm. Abnormal brain waves and muscle tension. You’re stressed about something.” Peridot noted.  
  
“We’re going to a planet that might explode at any second, and _might_ be covered in rebels. I _am_ stressed.”  
  
“Hm. That may be so, but there’s something else, isn’t there?”  
  
“I just… I keep getting really furious at trivial things. Like Pearl still forgetting to call me Steven.”  
  
“You know she can’t help that, Steven. She served her old Diamond faithfully for eons. With a gem that old, you have to overlook a few quirks.”  
  
“I know, but it’s just… infuriating.” Steven huffed. “That’s not even the point. I keep losing control of my emotions, and then my eyes start to glow and my powers-” Steven’s hands sparked dangerously, as if showing off. “Yeah, that.”  
  
“I would recommend spending a century in a bubble.” Peridot said, completely serious, and oblivious to the shock of everyone in the room. “But I know that is not an option. You have to do the work of three diamonds by yourself. The whole empire would fall apart. You’ll just have to find another way to deal with it.”  
  
“Woah. You have to do three times the workload of the old Yellow, and you’re only a third as grumpy.” Spinel whistled. “Now _that’s_ impressive.”  
  
“Permission to speak freely, my Diamond?” A new voice asked. No one had noticed that a Jasper had entered and was guarding the door.  
  
“Um, granted. And _please_ , just address me as Steven.”  
  
“Battle training always helps me relieve some built up _anger._ ” Jasper said.  
  
“If I agree to spar with you, are you just going to keep gloating about your war stories?” Steven asked, internally groaning.  
  
“Yes.” Jasper blinked. “But this is different. We’re heading to Earth. The home of the Crystal Gems. And you don’t know about Rose Quartz.”  
  
“I know what she did.” Steven frowned.  
  
“Everyone does. But no one else is alive that knows all of her tactics, all of her battles. You’d do well to learn, for when we meet her.”  
  
“If.” Steven corrected.  
  
“She’ll be there.” Jasper frowned. “And then, I’ll finally crush her.”  
  
“If we run into them.” Steven reminded her. “If I wanted them dead, I’d just tell Blue Diamond.”  
  
“...Hmph.” Jasper growled. “Yes, my Diamond.”  
  
“It’s _Steven._ ” Steven said, slapping her across the head. “Now, battle training.”  


* * *

“My Diamond, we’ve-” Yellow Pearl began to say over the ship’s loudspeaker, but was suddenly cut off when Peridot began broadcasting over her. “ _ Steven _ , we’ve reached Earth’s orbit. I’ll begin a planet-wide scan.”  
  
“Thanks, Peridot!” Steven yelled, his voice permeating through all the walls. He turned away, facing Jasper again. “Right. Ignore that interruption. Throw another one.”  
  
Jasper gathered up a whole pile of garbage and threw it at the tiny hybrid, who rubbed his hands together, building up enough static electricity to shatter the ball with an honestly weak beam. “Ugh.” He sighed. “I’m supposed to be a super-weapon. _Why can’t I do this?_ ”  
  
Had Jasper’s opponent been a Quartz, she might have taunted them. Or if it was a newly emerged, she might have had some encouraging words. But this was her owner. Trying to coddle him… didn’t sit right with her.  
  
Instead, she simply did as the Peridot instructed her (now, this is very important, Jasper, _blah blah blah_ ) and calmly wrapped her arms around him. She had no idea what this gesture meant, only that the Peridot said it was capable of calming him down.  
  
“Your training is going well.” Jasper grunted. “Especially for someone only fourteen cycles old.”  
  
“Wait, I was always told gems burst out of the ground knowing exactly what they can do.” Steven said. “Is that… not true?”  
  
“Not really. I mean, not unless you’re a Quartz. Sure, a lot of gems know what they _can_ do, but that doesn’t mean they know how to do it. So even gems need to go through training.”  
  
“...How long-”  
  
“Usually a century. Maybe as low as fifty cycles, if they’re a prodigy. Again, not Quartzes. They burst out of the ground ready to fight. But you’re a Diamond, not a Quartz. And you’re ten times better than any other gem of your age.”  
  
“Well, yes. I should be.” Steven said, haughtily. “I’m a superweapon. I’m just… not fully charged, yet.”  
  
“But according to my scans, you will be, in as few as two years.” Peridot said, opening the door to the training hall, limb enhancers glowing with projected screens, Yellow Pearl none too happy about having to open the door for her. “And speaking of scans, you’re going to want to see this.”  
  
“Alright, lead the way. Jasper, pack up here and meet us on the bridge.”  
  
“Yes, my Diamond.”  
  
“ _Ugh._ ” No one could ever get his name right. He knew why, logically. And he _was_ very logical.  
  
But it was still so very _annoying._  


* * *

“So, what have you found, Peridot?” I asked.  
  
“One Amethyst, one Pearl, one… ‘sarbppuhrie’? Uh, I think that’s a hetero-fusion. The scanner freaks out around those. One… ‘unknown’? Hm…” Peridot rattled off. “Hundreds of various different ‘aberrations’. I think that might be the Cluster.”  
  
“No Rose Quartz?” Jasper growled.  
  
“It’s possible she could be the ‘unknown’.” Peridot shrugged. “This _is_ an Era 2 scanner. It might not recognise them. They haven’t been in service since-”  
  
“Yeah.” Jasper frowned. Spinel nudged her shoulder, and she let out a grunt of annoyance.  
  
“Hand me the controls.” Steven ordered, his hand suddenly glowing white.  
  
“Terrible pun, Steven, but sure.” Peridot smiled.  
  
“Hahaha!” Spinel giggled.  
  
“Oh, for- I wasn’t-” Steven stammered, jerking his hand back. “Enough with the lame puns.”  
  
“Please do not anger my Diamond.” Yellow Pearl frowned.  
  
“...I’m setting us down on the moon. We can access the Spire’s console and remotely survey the planet before revealing ourselves.” Steven said, continuing as though nothing happened. “And while we wait for the auxiliaries to rendezvous. Pearl, once they arrive, have them standby on the moon.”  
  
“As you command, my Steven.” Pearl saluted.  
  
The yellow hand slammed down onto Earth’s moon, only a short distance away from the ancient moon spire here.  
  
Steven pressed a button, and everyone on board was deposited on the spire’s ground floor via the disorienting yellow bubble.  
  
“Ugh.” Jasper grunted, turning away from the Pink Diamond mural.  
  
“Oh. Right.” Steven sighed. “I forgot-”  
  
“You _forgot_ about Pink?” Spinel asked neutrally, but there was… _something_ else in her voice.  
  
“I forgot that Era 1 structures still have her mural.” He continued, displeased at being interrupted. “Just… try to ignore it. Pearl, the stairs.”  
  
“Yes, my Steven.” Pearl bowed, bending down and tapping something on the floor.  
  
Half the room was secretly crying about Pink, but Steven and Pearl had their eyes on a different one. “Hey, Pearl…”  
  
“Yes, my Steven?” She asked, so very proud of herself that she could finally say his name most of the time.  
  
“Yellow… She, uh…” He looked at the cold yellow mural. “She would have been proud of me, right?”  
  
“Yes, I believe… she would.” Pearl said. “F-Forgive me, my Diamond, m-my eyes are leaking. One moment.”  
  
Pink, Yellow, Blue…  
  
“None of you have ever seen White, have you?”  
  
As expected, no. No one has.  
  
“I wonder if she even knows I exist.” Steven scoffed.  
  
Pearl had heard similar complaints in the past. But that was ancient. She did not bring it up.  
  
“Steven, I’ll map out the places I need to go using the Observation Orb.” Peridot said, plugging one of her fingers into a small slot in the top.  
  
“Tell me if you see any of the rebels.” Steven said, continuing his ascent to the spire’s top floor.  
  
“So this is Pink’s colony that she _didn’t want me to see!”_ Spinel said, bobbing up and down. “Swell, ain’t it?”  
  
“It’s teeming with organic life.” Steven said, flatly. “I’ll never understand why Rose defended this place.”  
  
“She defended her twisted ideals of freedom and fusion.” Jasper spat. “It was my Diamond that loved the organics here. She wanted us to move them to her zoo.”  
  
“And she _did_ love plants.” Spinel chimed in. “One time she made a vine dance at the garden. Then she made me try and chase it around-”  
  
“Okay, I get it.” Steven said, putting a hand up to stop her babbling. He approached the console, and Pearl rushed forward to place her hand on it, projecting the screen away from the console’s throne.  
  
He wouldn’t sit there. It wasn’t his. It wasn’t right.  
  
“Let’s see…” He scrolled through the colony’s plans, lamenting at all the wasted potential. This colony could have been so great…  
  
Then again, that would have meant there would be no resource crisis, which meant that he wouldn’t have had a reason to be made.  
  
He blinked, and then decided to just not think about it. “Here. The cluster. It looks like the insertion point was-”  
  
“Beta. Tch.” Jasper scoffed, looking away.  
  
Steven whistled in surprise. “Wow, Jasper, your Kindergarten is terrible.”  
  
“I know.” She glared. “I was the only good thing to come out of it.”  
  
“Touchy.” He said, raising an eyebrow. He whispered to his Pearl. “Pearl, remind me to have her disciplined later.”  
  
“Yes, my Diamond.” Pearl nodded.  
  
“Okay, Pearl, have Peridot pass this information to the Lazulis.” Steven commanded. “In the meantime… We’re gonna head down there.”  
  
“If we see Rose, I’m going to crush her.” Jasper growled.  
  
“If.” Steven said. “And that’s a pretty big if. And even then, Blue would prefer her captured.”  
  
“We’re _not_ hunting her down? Darn.” Spinel pouted.  
  
“You two can go on your... vengeance crusade _afterwards._ But first, I’d like us to concentrate on our _job._ ” He snapped.  
  
“We don’t need to hunt her down. I know how stupid she is.” Jasper grunted. “She’ll come after us.”  
  
“And when she does~ _ZAP!_ ” Spinel laughed, jabbing the air with her destabiliser.  
  
“If she does, then I expect you to _defend_ me, Jasper.” Steven glared.  
  
“Of course.” Jasper saluted. “But she shattered a Diamond before.”  
  
“I don’t think I’m making this clear enough, Jasper.” Steven said. “I am _ordering_ you to defend me. If Rose attacks, then I expect you to deal with her. But if she merely shows up, _don’t you dare abandon your post to chase her._ ”  
  
“Y-” Jasper tried to argue, but a Diamond had just ordered her. She cursed at herself, she was being selfish. Her Diamond came first, always. “Yes, my Diamond.” She saluted.  
  
Peridot ascended the steps. “Now that that’s settled, the human extraction team is ready, and the Lazulis are already in position. Everyone is waiting for your command, Steven.”  
  
“Were you eavesdropping?” Steven asked.  
  
“Hardly.” Peridot smirked. “You were all shouting at each other, and this place is hardly soundproofed. Now… Are we ready, or not?”  
  
“Yes.” Steven clapped his hands. “Let’s go see this planet.”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, welcome to a new thing.  
> This is something I'd had bouncing around GDocs for a while, and, well, here it is. Will I write it over Astral Displacement? I don't know, depends which one is more fun to write.


End file.
